“Everybody is trying to figure out, is there a business model online,” Brian Roberts, Comcast’s chief executive, said at an investors conference. “This allows us to accelerate that space.”

The more high-quality video available on the Internet, “the more people need broadband, the more they’ll pay for even bigger pipes,” he said. “I think we’re again in a very nice position.”

At the same time, Mr. Roberts reassured investors that at Comcast, “we still love the cable business,” and it will continue to focus on cable and broadband distribution. Content — particularly NBC’s cable channels such as USA, E and Syfy — strengthens its distribution business, he said. He pointed out that three of Comcast’s biggest channels, Versus, Style and G4, don’t make as much money combined as NBC’s worst-performing channel.

Steve Burke, Comcast’s operating chief, again said that the cable giant largely sees eye-to-eye with NBC when it comes to its Web strategy. “If you look at what NBC Universal has been doing online, it’s exactly what we would do online,” he said.

NBC has released much of its broadcast content onto Hulu, which NBC, News Corp. and Disney operate, but has been careful to hold back shows from its cable channels that could encourage consumers to cut their cable cords, Mr. Burke said. “Their interests, and the interests of the distributors, are exactly the same, to make sure that those great revenue streams related to affiliate sales are not harmed.”

He said he expects to see providers experimenting with ways to satisfy consumer demand for video over the Internet. “On the other hand, you want to be very careful not to upset the economic models that have gotten us to where we are,” he said.